Naruto the Ramen Man
by vixypixyno9
Summary: What happens when Mr. Ichiraku gets the flu during a very important week? Read and find out!


**Author's Note:** Nothing much to say here other than enjoy the sheer chaos that's planned :D

Mr. Ichiraku had dedicated his life to the creation of Ramen and the enjoyment of his customers. Every day was a magnificent one and he always enjoyed going to `work' or rather, his expensive but profitable hobby that was below his loft. However, it was the week of the annual Ramen cook-off and he, as the reigning champion for the last decade, he had a title to uphold. During this week, people and Ramen chefs from all over the world converged upon Konoha to sample the fares of other chefs and gain new ideas for the preparation of Ramen. But,when he had come down with the flu, he didn't want to leave his precious ramen stand unattended and miss out on a week to proudly display his wares. He would have put Ayame in charge, but she had refused to leave his side. So, without someone to attend to his customers for this week, he would have to…wait. He had a brilliant idea. He would put his best customer in charge. The only customer he had that knew the exact flavor and preparation of every type of Ramen he had ever prepared. That's right boys and girls, he had put Naruto in charge. Who else knew all facts Ramen? None other than our beloved blonde ninja of course! Mr. Ichiraku had thought it brilliant and said to Ayame that his clientele would get a show from Naruto's ninja skills! Ayame however, hadn't been so sure. And for good reasons too.

"Sakura I need you to get me that pan over there!" She had no idea how this had become her job. She really didn't know how Naruto had dragged her and Sasuke into this. However, she hadn't seen Naruto this happy in quite a while. Nor had she seen Sasuke this pissed in quite a while either. At least she was getting paid for her services. She was somewhat prepared to help out but nothing prepared her for the large crowd of spectators when Naruto had started doing tricks to impress the audience. He spun bowls on one finger while topping them with various ingredients and he tossed full bowls in the air while balancing on a pair of chopstick before delivering them to customers. The crowd applauded and gasped as every feat was attempted. The past three days of the Annual Ramen Cook-Off had been hectic, but never the less a lesson learned. Naruto was having too much fun.

Sakura smacked her forehead as she handed Naruto his desired pan.

Meanwhile Sasuke was busy doing cleanup and washing dishes.

He hated cleanup.

As he scrubbed bowl after bowl, he became more and more frustrated. Why him? Wasn't this a woman's job? But Sakura had refused to let him do orders out in the massive line. She said it's best if a woman does it and no one would come if he was scowling the entire time.

Che, Women…

As Sasuke sulked, Sakura hurriedly set out the outside tables while sending a clone to deliver meals. She ran about like a mad woman to greet customers and take orders at the bar while Naruto cooked away. He had a skill for ramen one must admit. Noodle toss after noodle toss Naruto continued to wow the customers with tricks. Everything was going fine from lunch time until about 10:00. Just when the crowd had subsided and they had a break, Naruto had to go and do something stupid. He thought that it would be a good idea to have some shadow clones cleanup for them while they went out on break.

Sakura was too exhausted to say any different and Sasuke was just in a bad enough mood to not object. They were having a spectacular time out especially since all qualified shinobi are aloud to drink alcohol. Yes, even Sasuke had a swig or two and started to be a little more talkative than usual. Naruto though, was just plastered. Sakura and Sasuke had to drag him back to the stand to close up, both having a minor buzz. However, when they saw the state of the stand, let's just say Sakura was sure to give Naruto the nastiest hangover torture the next day.

"Naruto!"

"Wa-what! Sakura-chaaaan?" his voice was slurred and drawn out.

"What the hell?"

Just then it hit Sasuke and Sakura. The clones had an identical personality to their user and were affected by the user's physical state and limits. In other word's, since Naruto was piss drunk, so were the clones. One had drawn a rather dirty caricature of Sakura on the wall while another was dancing like an idiot on the counter top with a strainer on its head. Sakura was furious. Sasuke just rolled his eyes.

"Sakura, I'll take care of dobe's mess"

Sakura then gave Sasuke a thanks and promptly dropped Naruto to the floor as she started picking up the mess on the floor.

"Jeez, Sakura-chaan….doo ya have to be so rough?"

"Naruto. Help. Now."

She then promptly hit Naruto on the head, leaving the blonde clutching his head. She could have so caused injury in a more sensitive area.

Even though he was way past his limit he dispelled the clones and drunkenly wobbled over to the mess of thrown utensils and bowls. This was going to be a loooooong night.

When Mr. Ichiraku finally returned, chipper as ever with an overjoyed Ayame, he was pleased to see everything was in order and they had managed to wow customers from across the lands. However, his cook and his partners seemed a bit…exhausted. "So how did it go?" Mr. Ichiraku asked the teens. Their replies were weak `okay's'. He laughed deeply and Ayame chuckled. She thought they would have destroyed the place. However, Sakura soon approached Ayame.

"Yes Sakura?"

"Nnn…never again. Don't let him."

A bit puzzled by her statement Ayame let it go. It wasn't until later that she found out from the neighbors across the street that there had been Naruto's all over the place! They had turned over tables, tossed chairs, used forks as kunai, and had used the nearby moving carts as targets. Sakura was right never again. See, Ayame had good reason to object the next time. Naruto the Ramen Man was definitely not the way to go.

This fic isn't exactly what I'm used to writing but it was fun! Anywho, please review and check out some of my other fanfics 3 Arigato!


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